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Bad Government from a Good Government Leader
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
Robert Wechsler
See update and second update below
People in the government ethics field can be very arrogant. I know I can. But it's horrible to see it in action, especially when it's turned against what we commonly think of as good government.
Fred Voigt is the deputy city election commissioner for Philadelphia, and former executive director of Philadelphia's Committee of Seventy, which describes itself as "a non-partisan organization working to improve the Philadelphia region by demanding ethical conduct of public officials, educating citizens and safeguarding elections." And yet in an interview this week with the American News Project, Voigt scoffs at concerns about long lines due to voting machines that didn't work during this year's primary.
His mantra is that no election is perfect (as if that's what people expect), and he insists that the voting machine failures had solely human causes, as if that makes a difference to the people waiting over an hour to vote, not to mention the many people who can't wait an hour to vote, because they have to be at work or just decide it's not worth the wait (which more will do in November than earlier in the year).
And then Voigt's arrogance rises to a new level. "Do you have any doubt what the outcome will be?" he asks, noting that Philadelphia is 5-1 Democratic. So, he clearly implies, an individual's vote in Philadelphia is meaningless, something appalling to hear from a good government advocate, especially when it's not true, because Pennsylvania is a major battleground state, with large areas that are just as Republican as Philadelphia is Democratic.
If this is a good government leader, we're in trouble. This sort of arrogance and cynicism has no place in good government circles, or in government circles, either. Disenfranchisement is not something to scoff at. If the people currently running the Committee of Seventy have more interest in their mission than Voigt seems to have, they should publicly criticize its former leader and make it clear that this sort of behavior is unacceptable.
And Voigt owes the people of Philadelphia not only an apology, but a promise to have emergency back-up paper ballots available at every precinct, with orders that they be used if any machine is down for more than a few minutes. Update: It turns out that Pennsylvania law leaves the use of paper ballots to the discretion of local election officials, and that the Secrectary of State's requirement, which Mr. Voigt seemed to support, of paper ballots when all machines are down, was wrong and was just overriden by an order from the local federal district court.
Second Update: Committee of Seventy president and CEO Zack Stalberg is quoted in a follow-up video from the American News Project, stating his disappointment in Mr. Voigt's lack of concern for these issues, as evidenced in his interview. That wasn't easy, and I congratulate him for not defending the recent executive director of his organization.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
People in the government ethics field can be very arrogant. I know I can. But it's horrible to see it in action, especially when it's turned against what we commonly think of as good government.
Fred Voigt is the deputy city election commissioner for Philadelphia, and former executive director of Philadelphia's Committee of Seventy, which describes itself as "a non-partisan organization working to improve the Philadelphia region by demanding ethical conduct of public officials, educating citizens and safeguarding elections." And yet in an interview this week with the American News Project, Voigt scoffs at concerns about long lines due to voting machines that didn't work during this year's primary.
His mantra is that no election is perfect (as if that's what people expect), and he insists that the voting machine failures had solely human causes, as if that makes a difference to the people waiting over an hour to vote, not to mention the many people who can't wait an hour to vote, because they have to be at work or just decide it's not worth the wait (which more will do in November than earlier in the year).
And then Voigt's arrogance rises to a new level. "Do you have any doubt what the outcome will be?" he asks, noting that Philadelphia is 5-1 Democratic. So, he clearly implies, an individual's vote in Philadelphia is meaningless, something appalling to hear from a good government advocate, especially when it's not true, because Pennsylvania is a major battleground state, with large areas that are just as Republican as Philadelphia is Democratic.
If this is a good government leader, we're in trouble. This sort of arrogance and cynicism has no place in good government circles, or in government circles, either. Disenfranchisement is not something to scoff at. If the people currently running the Committee of Seventy have more interest in their mission than Voigt seems to have, they should publicly criticize its former leader and make it clear that this sort of behavior is unacceptable.
And Voigt owes the people of Philadelphia not only an apology, but a promise to have emergency back-up paper ballots available at every precinct, with orders that they be used if any machine is down for more than a few minutes. Update: It turns out that Pennsylvania law leaves the use of paper ballots to the discretion of local election officials, and that the Secrectary of State's requirement, which Mr. Voigt seemed to support, of paper ballots when all machines are down, was wrong and was just overriden by an order from the local federal district court.
Second Update: Committee of Seventy president and CEO Zack Stalberg is quoted in a follow-up video from the American News Project, stating his disappointment in Mr. Voigt's lack of concern for these issues, as evidenced in his interview. That wasn't easy, and I congratulate him for not defending the recent executive director of his organization.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
---
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